


They Never Were: Five Things That Almost Happened (To Gale Hawthorne and Katniss Everdeen)

by hariboo



Category: Hunger Games (2012), Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins
Genre: F/M, five times fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-04-18
Updated: 2012-04-18
Packaged: 2017-11-03 20:53:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,815
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/385823
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hariboo/pseuds/hariboo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Five things that almost happened to Gale and Katniss, because according to the odds they <i>could have</i> happened.</p>
            </blockquote>





	They Never Were: Five Things That Almost Happened (To Gale Hawthorne and Katniss Everdeen)

**Author's Note:**

> **odds** |ädz| plural noun. the ratio between the amounts staked by the parties to a bet, based on the expected probability either way • (usu. the odds) the chances or likelihood of something happening or being the case • (usu. the odds) superiority in strength, power, or resources; advantage

**MAY**

 

Two hours ago they were in the woods, the smell of the ground and trees filling their noses with something that Gale thinks of as freedom and knows that Katniss will never let her thoughts go in that direction. She will not allow herself too. It's why he's always the one talking about living the woods, why he asks the questions to her, waits for her words that reminds them of why they can't. Freedom would be a selfish dream for both of them, and one they would never be able to live with.

They're a team, even in what they don't say to each other, even in what they do. Even when they're rows apart. 

Effie Trinkets too bright nails dig around and clink against the glass of the Reaping Bowl. Her fingers close over a slip of paper. Gale knows he can't actually hear the exact way the paper rips but he feels he does. The name is like branch cracking against his chest. 

_Primrose Everdeen_

He snaps his gaze to Katniss who's goes stock still, shocked. Neither of them expected this. Prim's name is only in there once. Once. Unbidden he thinks about Rory. Forces himself to look from his brother to Prim. She's walking to the platform. Gale can't see her face, can't picture it like he can picture Katniss' right now, eyes wide with shock, but he can see how Prim's braids hang by her ears and he can see her small pale neck, the way her hands shake as she tucks in the back of her shirt into her skirt. 

She's so tiny. 

She's a baby, a child. He's known her since she was nine and even smaller than she is now. He thinks about her last birthday and how he held her gave her and Posy piggyback rides because it made them laugh.

His eyes snap to Katniss. She's still as statue as Prim passes and then he knows, he _feels_ the second she's about to rush forward but even as her body rushes forward something, no, _someone_ \-- Gale watches Madge Undersee profile slides over Katniss' for a second -- lurches her back. He doesn't need to see Catnip's eyes to know they're hard and unforgiving as the look at Madge but she doesn't move forward again. There will be time to volunteer. 

Part of Gale sighs. The other simmers with rage as he watches Prim reach Effie Trinket's side. 

Her hands go back into the bowl; a different boy. The boys. Gale can't help but think of Rory now, with his one name in the bowl, just like Prim had. His jaw clenches. (Rows away Katniss' is doing the same, her eyes on her sister. There's still time to volunteer.)

Effie's nail click against the bowl and she unfolds the new name. 

_Not Rory, not Rory, not Rory, anyone but Rory,_ is all Gale is thinking.

There are no sharp consonants in the name called. Only quiet, strong letters blending together. 

It takes him a second so focused in thinking _not Rory, not Rory, not Rory, anyone but_ \-- 

It wasn't Rory.

_Gale Hawthorne_

He swallows, his fist clench and unclench and a footsteps forward. It's impossible but he thinks he hears Katniss sharp breath. If Madge is still next to her Gale feels sorry for the other girl. Katniss' nails are probably making marks on the other girl's skin. He doesn't dare look back at her, knowing what he'll see in her eyes. Everyone around him is silent as he moves through them, as if they're all at a wake, then agina to them it almost is. For District 12 the Games never mean celebration, they are precursors to grieving. He passes the bakers youngest son. Has the brief urge to thank him for his father's bread that feed him and Catnip this morning. He passes Rory. Holds back from the urge to reach out and clasp his brother in a hug.

Gale walks towards the stage. He stands at Effie's side as she shrills out her congratulations. He quickly searches for Katniss' face. She's pale, bottom lip clenched tightly between her teeth. There will be no volunteering anymore. She can't, his name took away her chance to stand up for Prim. Gale's jaw works and he nods his head silent. Katniss' eyes narrow, but she nods back.

She will not be able to stand up for Prim but it doesn't matter anymore, Gale's standing next to her sister. It's almost the same thing. When Effie asks him to shake Prim's hand, Gale holds her small trembling hand and looks into her eyes. 

"It's gonna be okay, Prim," he whispers, so low not even Effie catches it next to them. Prim's eyes are wide and scared, but she steels her chin. Gale squeezes her hand and turns to their District, not letting go. 

He watches as Katniss kisses her three fingers and hold them out to him and Prim. He can feel her cracking, like timber in fire, but knows she will not let herself break. 

When she comes to him after, moments after his family leaves, he holds her in his arms and promises to her that Prim will come back. He'll make sure Prim comes back.

Like always, Gale keeps his promises to his Catnip.

 

 

**THE ODDS**

 

He breaks away from the Peacekeepers and pushes back to Katniss. His arms wrap around her and then frames her face in his hands. Katniss' eyes are wide. 

"Gale?"

His mouth opens to tell her, "Remember, I love you."

Peacekeeper hands close back on his shoulder. He feels Katniss' hands fist in his shirt. He surges forward, dislodging one Peacekeeper. They stumble back. Gale's mouth crushes down at corner of Katniss' the word _love_ smashed between them and her skin. It's not the kiss he's thought about giving her. The words he wanted to say are lost in the rush of the moment. All he's got is this one action. He hopes it's enough, for both of them.

The Peacekeepers pull him back and Katniss' hand are torn away from his shirt as they're seperated. 

She blinks and then rushes forward. "Gale!!!"

Peacekeeper blocks her way.

He looks at her, drinks in the strong line of her shoulder, the sharp lines of her face, the way the collar of the dress rest against her neck. "Remember that, Catnip." He calls back to her.

"I will!" She shouts back, voice rough.

There's a sheen in her eyes too close to tears that makes him want to go back in time and convince to run away with him this morning. Her arms are spread wide on at door frame, like she's holding herself back from going towards him. It'd be both of their death, they know. 

Gale lets him be pulled away. Katniss lets herself be kept away. Hate for the Capitol burns the strongest it ever has in Gale. Looking over his shoulder one last time as they make him turn a corner, he hopes to catch her eyes on last time, but the door to her room is already closing. 

It feels like the end of something; the beginning of something else. 

 

 

**EVER BE**

 

She crawls into the bed, her body long and warm presses against his side, waking him. His eyes open and sees her face. Her cheek is pressed into the pillow next to him, her hand falls to his neck. Her fingers are cool.

"Catnip," he mumbles, the pain in his back stinging but the soft edges of whatever her mom's been giving him chase after the burn of the lashing. 

"I didn't want to wake you up. Mom say we should let you rest, but…" she trails off. She didn't care, goes unsaid. He doesn't mind. How could he? Her thumb circles the skin behind his ear. Gale sighs. 

His eyes close. Katniss is tense next to him, simmering with barely contained anger and heat. He knows she's mad at him, like she's mad at the Peacekeeper that did this, like she's mad at her mother for shutting down on her and Prim after her dad died. It's okay, Gale doesn't really mind her anger. It fuels her; makes her burn like coal. He thinks about how when coal gets crushed, pressed down in just the right way, you'll get a diamond. Gale imagines Katniss's face as he thinks _diamond_. Beautiful and sharp.

Of their own violation his lips soften into smile. 

Katniss' nails bite into his neck.

"Don't smile," she growls, quietly. 

He opens his eyes, "I was thinking about you." He's tired and dopey enough not to care how much madder this will make her. 

Her thumb and forefinger pinch his ears. He grimaces, still smiling. 

"Stop smiling," she says, pushing closer to him. Her fingers slip into his hair, her thighs are pressed tight against his. Their mouths are level. 

Gale stops smiling. 

"You can't do shit like this anymore," she says, low and angry. "You can't get hurt, you're not allowed to. So stop doing stupid shit that will get you hurt."

He sighs, now he's a little angry too. "You're one to talk." 

Her eyes narrow. _Stormy grey_ , Gale thinks, _the ash left behind by fire_. "I have to do this, I don't have choice."

"And I'm supposed to let you do it by yourself?!" Pushing his arms from his side, he tries to sit up, hates having this conversation lying flat and wounded; weak. His backs burns the second he tries to move. Katniss' up in that same second, her hands pushing him down, surprisingly gentle at his shoulders.

"Don't move," she hisses. She almost sounds worried.

Gale drops back to the bed, he thinks it has to be Mrs. Everdeen's -- does this place even have a guest room? -- because they'd never put him in Prim's room and Katniss' is too dangerous for both of them.

"I fucking hate this." 

He feels more hears her sigh, hands still at his shoulders where he's uninjured. Her thumbs sweep at the nape of his neck. 

"I know," she says. _Me too_ , he also hears. "But you have to leave it alone." She moves back down to lie next to him, her palm cups his cheek. "You're not allow to get hurt, you hear me? You're min-- _You're not allowed to get hurt_." The words are rough and he can see how her cheeks twitch and her throat words. Slowly, he nods. 

Lifting one hand, he cups her jaw. "Neither are you, Catnip."

He tilts his chin and brushes his lip against her. Katniss sighs into his mouth and then quickly pulls away. 

"We're a team," she says, sitting up. 

Gale closes his eyes as he feels her move from the bed. Her fingers trail his cheek. 

"We're a team."

 _What's yours is mine, what's mine is yours_ , is Gale's last thought as he drops back into dreams about fire.

 

 

**IN YOUR**

 

Katniss' teeth close over his shoulder as he thrusts up into her. The shelf of the District 13 storage closet bumps against her back and there's a clatter of supplies spilling as Gale's hand shifts for purchase. Her head hits his hand.

Her thighs are tight around his waist. One hand twists in his hair at every thrust, the other claws at his shoulder bone, nails catching on the scars that crisscross over it. Gale groans at the feel of her -- Katniss, Katniss, Katniss, his Katniss, Katniss, Catnip, Catnip -- around him. She's not loud, not really, they can't be, but her muffled moans at his neck make him want to take her to the forest, lay her out over their sleeping bags, and fuck her with his mouth until she screams. 

Instead Gale adjusts his grip on her, moves them so she's leaning back against the wall and he can lower his head to her breast. They're small, but soft, and a keen little moan vibrates against his ear when he closes his lips over a nipple. Katniss doesn't speak much when they do this, but when she does he love it. 

"Fuck, Gale, fuck," her mouth closes over the bend of his neck, her teeth skimming his skin, as he sucks at her nipples, a wet trail connecting one to the other. 

Katniss' thighs shake around him and he knows she's close. He moves one hand between their bodies and gently closes his teeth over the bud of her nipple as he pressed down on her clit. 

"Gale!!" Her voice is muffled on his skin. Her mouth sucks at edge of one scar from the lashing that reaches the curve of his shoulder.

She comes like a shock, her hipbones bite into his pelvis, her body arching into his. His body tenses and he gives a few quick desperate thrusts before pulling out and coming between their pressed stomachs. His face is still buried between her breasts, lips at the hard press of her sternum that's almost visible--the rations of District 13 had been affecting them all, but not horribly. They both know what it means to go hungry and they're not there yet.

"Catnip," he says, quiet, as he lifts his head to hers. She lifts a hand to his cheeks, he smiles. She barely does, her swollen mouth from their activities twisting. 

"Kiss me, Gale," she says, arms and legs still tight around him, like a snare. 

He does. Slow and deep, all tongue and wet lips. Her body loosens with the kiss. Her legs slide down his body and he holds her steady until her feet are on the ground. Unhurriedly he pulls away, passes the pads of his thumb over her cheeks, under the dark circles in her eyes. She barely sleeps now. It worries him; he does what he can, but she can't stop all her nightmares. He tries not to think about who can. 

Her lips twitch, it lightens the weight on his chest slightly. Leaning forward, he presses a kiss to her forehead. Katniss' hand close over his bicep and he can hear her breath -- him, her, them -- in. 

Gale reaches behind them to grab at some cloth and wipes at the mess on her stomach then his. "Sorry about that," he says, even knowing she doesn't care. This isn't the first time they've done this after all.

Katniss shrugs, grabs at her pants. "I think about going to the infirmary and having them give me an injection."

He hands her shirts, grabbing his own pants, quirking an eyebrow. There's only one type of injection Katniss would ever consider getting. 

"Why don't you?"

Katniss' eyes are heavy with meaning as she watches him pull on his top as he sits down on a crate to tie his shoes.

"I don't want anyone else to know. This is just us." She moves over to him, not that the small storage area provided them with much room anyway, but. She steps into the space between he legs, doesn't reach for him though. "You and me, right?"

His fingers curls into the hem of her pants, "You and me, Catnip."

 

 

 

**FAVOUR**

 

He goes to her after everything. He thought about leaving without telling her but just the thought made his chest tighten up with dread. She's sitting on her hospital bed, her skin healing in stages. Her eyes are as dark as storm clouds and as sharp as diamonds when they settle on him. 

Gale reaches out to touch her and for the first time since he can remember knowing her, pulls back. Her eyes follow the aborted move of his hand. He thinks he sees flash of hurt cross her face. It speaks to how fucked up things have become in the last few weeks that he can see her face and not understand everything that's going on with her. It makes him feel sick. He hates it.

"What are you doing here?" asks Katniss. 

"I wanted to tell you," he swallows, sticks his hand into his pocket, fisting them there. "I'm thinking of going to District Two. Help with the rebuilding," he adds, unnecessarily, out of everyone he knows Catnip would be the first to understand why he's going back to the district he made burn. Even with everything as fucked up as it is she'll still the one that understands him best.

Her eyes slide away from him, "Are you going to stay here?"

"I don't know yet." 

"Okay." 

"Okay," he echoes. 

She looks at him then -- something inside Gale sighs in relief at what he read in her gaze -- and holds out her hand, palm up, waiting for him. Gale closes his hands over hers. Nothing is as familiar as her hands. They fall back into sync as their fingers twine together. He breathes out. She breathes in. 

This is how something ends. 

This is how something else begins.


End file.
